Jul 25 2020

REVIEW: Ride Your Wave (2019)

So I watched Ride Your Wave from director Masaaki Yuasa this morning, and I gotta say, it was quite the visual experience. Now before I get into this, I should probably talk a bit about how I came to know about this film, since in terms of Japanese Anime Films currently available to the public, this one doesn’t seem to be getting a lot of attention. It first came to my attention through a review by Youtuber, Chris Stuckmann when he posted a short review of the film nine months ago. It immediately grabbed my attention, and I immediately went to try and find a site that might have it. To my dismay, the movie not only wasn’t available yet, but there was absolutely no word on a US release. I found that the Japanese release would be available in December, but I don’t have a way of watching those discs, and I’m not overly fond of what the Otaku Community call “subs”. I’m so casual… enjoying dubs over subs.

Chris Stuckmann’s Original Review

I did however find out that Ride Your Wave would be getting a one night theatrical release in the US come February. So I made a note to make sure I’d go watch it when it came out… and I completely spaced it. And to my utter dismay, I could not find anything regarding any other release of the movie for a very long time. On a whim a few weeks ago now, I looked up the film one more time and to my joy, Shout Factory had made the Blu-ray release of the film available for pre-order, and I immediately pre-ordered it. I need to emphasize that I don’t normally do this. Blind purchases are not exactly something I willingly do. But regardless, I put in for a pre-order, and was happy knowing that I’d finally get a chance to check out this film. And wouldn’t you know it? My order came about a week early! So I sat down and watched it and… well here I am.

Now it’s worth noting that I am not exactly the biggest fan of anime. When it comes to shows, I find myself very picky on what I watch.The same however cannot be said when it comes to anime movies. The fidelity and visual brilliance that often accompanies these films makes the price of admission worth it in and of itself, and that’s a good thing, considering that sometimes, the overall storytelling aspects of these movies can come up short for me on a personal level. I enjoy movies like Princess Mononoke (1997), When Marnie Was There (2014), and The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006), but if I’m being completely honest, each of these films could have told their stories a bit better to me. I found films like Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989) to be pretty disappointing because of reasons like this. Having watched this movie and seeing what it has to offer, I can safely say that this movie actually does a decent job at telling a good story without too many shortcomings.

I was going to talk about it on next week’s SuperGeeks show, and I still will most likely, but after watching it, I felt rather obligated to write out my thoughts, because I find it criminal that this film has as little attention as it has. Also, I’m likely going to be talking some spoilers here, so be warned. I would recommend watching this regardless.

Let’s dive in.

The film focuses on a girl named Hinako Mukaimizu, a girl who has just moved out on her own in the world, and absolutely loves surfing. Immediately one of the things I love about this is that I actually can kinda immediately relate to her on a level here. The film goes out of its way to show us that she doesn’t necessarily enjoy surfing to be competitive, or to show off her skills on the board, she just surfs because she genuinely just enjoys it. I don’t surf, but I actually have a very similar mindset when it comes to swimming. I don’t exactly do it for exercise, and I don’t do it to be competitive, I just genuinely enjoy being in water, diving down, and relaxing. There’s really no other rhyme or reason to it. So Hinako enjoys the surf, but little does she know that she’s attracted the attention of a young firefighter by the name of Minato Hinageshi, who can see her surf the waves from work pretty much. The two cross paths when one night, some local hooligans set off a bunch of fireworks, and Hinako’s apartment catches fire. Minato saves her life, and the two get close.

Romance in Anime movies is nothing new, and most of the films I’ve seen focus on some form of relationship. But honestly, what I really like about this one is just how unafraid both Minato and Hinako are when it comes to just how silly or quirky they can be. Admittedly, quirky characters in these kinda of movies aren’t exactly something new, but there’s something genuinely cool about how it’s executed here, in how they seem to be at peace with it. A lot of the time, the quirkiness of a character fits into the main conflict of the story, but that’s not really the case here. Both Hinako and Minato are just openly silly, fun, and playful with each other and in how they live, and it lays out the foundation for a relationship you genuinely care about. We see them going out to restaurants, blushing, having coffee, getting introduced to a sister who I honestly didn’t expect to like by the film’s end, yet strangely do (more on this later), and Hinako teaches Minato how to surf. As we see a brief passage of time with these two characters, it quickly shows us that this isn’t your typical Disney love-at-first-sight relationship. While the film doesn’t show us how they develop in their relationship, the general idea is wonderfully executed. It’s a lovely way to open up your film, before it pretty much throws a bucket of ice water on you.

I don’t even need to know the story of why they felt the need to bring their giant inflatable porpoise into a karaoke bar. I just think they’re cute together!

Hinako’s world is turned upside down when Minato drowns, saving the life of another person. What I really appreciate about this move is that despite this setting in motion the main conflict of the story, it doesn’t happen right away. Typically in dramas like this, the main central points of conflict are quick to show themselves (in my experience at least). Take Princess Bride for example. Wesley disappears from Buttercup’s life pretty quickly in that film, and while they aren’t completely separated throughout the film, the story revolves around them overcoming various obstacles to remain together in the end. One of my personal favorite films in Wall-E, Wall-E’s love interest appears very early on too, and his chase to win her affection and friendship takes up most of the film. I can’t help but feel that the main point of conflict in this film is delayed just a bit. The film is about 95 minutes long, and Minato’s accident happens when a third of the film is done. What makes this such a good move in my eyes is that it gives us time to get used to him and her as a couple. How he impacts her life, and how the two interact with one another fleshes them both out as characters, and makes us further care about them, so when Minato is suddenly removed from Hinako’s Life, we care more about how this directly impacts her, and relate more to what she’s going through. I was genuinely distraught seeing this event destroy her love of surfing as it did (Hey, I’m not made of stone).

One thing I should really applaud right here and now is just how well this film handles the grieving process for Hinako. It’s not exactly your standard Kübler-Ross Stages of Grief, But you can tell that she’s very much living in a world of denial right here. What I love about this is that we never see her cry right here, giving further emphasis to the denial she feels at her reality, and her denial is only strengthened when she discovers something extraordinary. She discovers that when she sings a specific song that she and Minato enjoyed singing together, Minato appears to her in bodies of water. He doesn’t just appear to her, he can speak with her. The thing is, she’s the only one who can see him, which can lead to the other people in her life getting concerned for her when she’s carrying around a water bottle, and talking to it like she would if he were still there. It results in what can be called a unique journey through the stages of grief. It goes from a cute romance, to a more supernatural journey through one’s personal grief.

It needs to be said that the visuals in these scenes are breathtaking at times.

Ride Your Wave quickly becomes a bit of a ghost story in this aspect. Hinako finds her grief set aside as she now realizes she has a way to bring Minato back into her life simply by calling out in the way she can. It may be limiting, sure, but it seems to be enough for her. Not only are these scenes again really well done, but they feel strangely natural. I shouldn’t say that Hinako really makes a giant inflatable porpoise filled with water seem like a living breathing thing, but she does. The way she continues to interact with Minato in these scenes, and the way she continues to push people away in her life who are genuinely getting worried for her, and telling her that she needs to move on can be genuinely hard to watch for the right reasons. Speaking of which, it’s probably time to talk about some of these people.

Hinako and Minato are the central characters of the story, but there are at least two other characters that have a huge influence in the story and its direction. These two would be Minato’s friend Wasabi Kawamura, who later admits he has feelings for Hinako, and Minato’s younger sister, Yōko. While the two aren’t as central as Hinako and Minato, the way they contribute to this story is actually really well done. While the film admittedly doesn’t execute this part of the story as well as it probably could have, Wasabi admits to Hinako about two thirds of the way through the film that he has feelings for her. Now what this normally means is that later on in the film, Hinako will have a special someone in her life after she accepts that Minato can no longer be a part of her life as he once was. The thing is, Yōko is still in the picture, and she’s arguably one of the most interesting characters of the film. Yōko Is introduced to us as this pessimistic, sharp-tongued, very blunt and straight to the point unpleasant person. She speaks what’s on her mind, she isn’t overly fond of Hinako and her relationship with her brother, and even after Minato dies, she doesn’t seem very sympathetic, or affected by it in any way. Quite the opposite. She gets fairly frustrated with Hinako, often being one of the first people to tell her to move on. With her behavior, you’d wonder if she ever loved her brother, or was affected at all. In fact, I genuinely did not expect to like her character at all, and yet by the time the story was told, I liked her as much as any of these other characters in the movie. The film does a great job at subtly showing us just how much Minato’s did in fact mean to her, with her choosing to try and carry out his lifelong dream of eventually opening up a café, and whatnot. By the time the story ends, she truly feels like she’s gone on almost as rich a journey as Hinako herself.

What, you’ve never seen a girl take a big inflated porpoise balloon full of water down the street before?

Now I’ve been praising this movie for a lot of the things it gets right, but I’m not going to say that it does nothing wrong. I will say that the things that bugged me didn’t do nearly enough to take me out of the movie, but they’re still worth mentioning. The first was that while this film does a great job of subtly telling certain aspects of its story, there are times where the story decides to throw subtlety out the window, or straight up tell us what we probably could have pieced together by ourselves. A small offender in this is how the film shows us that despite Hinako being able to call upon Minato when she wants, it isn’t exactly like she’s calling him in the flesh. The film is quick to show us that this is very much Minato as a ghost or something similar. But that doesn’t stop the film later on saying how despite being able to be by her side, how Minato is sad that he won’t be able to kiss her or hold her hand anymore. A small offender, but there is a pretty major one towards the end of the film that I do feel probably shouldn’t have been spelled out for us, because it feels more like what TV Tropes calls an Ass Pull than genuine plot development. (Spoiler ahead)

Eventually, Hinako goes to Minato’s house to pay respects properly, and his sister tells Hinako a bit about why Minato became who he was in terms of his job and personality. In the beginning of the film, Minato describes that as a young child, he almost drowned in the ocean, which plays into why he isn’t exactly the best surfer, but his determination wills him to learn. This backstory is fine, but there’s a revelation that Hinako discovers here, and had it only been told through subtle imagery and maybe limited dialogue, it likely would have been far more impactful. Instead, we see Hinako run home, and ask her mom about an old memory that was never before mentioned in the movie about how as a young girl, she rescued a young boy from drowning, and you can immediately see where this is going. It just doesn’t have the same impact when the film decides to spell it all out for you. Now, where they take the story from here, in how Hinako decides to use this as motivation in her life to pursue a career similar to that of Minato’s in helping people as best as she can is executed fine. I just wish that the catalyst for it was a bit more subtle.

Goddamn these color schemes man… gorgeous.

And while this film looks absolutely breathtaking most of the time, it is worth noting that there were a few instances where the animation was a bit stiff. Not exactly thing that anime has been able to escape from, but some of the sequences of movement did feel a bit unpolished at times? Like there was a scene with a parachute at one point in the film, and the parachute wasn’t exactly smooth sailing. But I digress, these instances were few and far between, and I was still blown away by the motion in the water, and the color schemes they often brought forth when animating anything with water.

Another thing this film animated surprisingly well was people cooking food. This might be one of my first real instances of anime food porn, because the film made eggs look damn good in so many ways. Just look at this.

I’d be applauding too.

But honestly, the film really hits its peak with the climax at the end. While granted, the ghost story aspect does kinda become a bit of a Deus ex Machina, Hinako’s journey in her grief really comes to a point of relatability that had me in tears by the time it ended. A good portion of this film focuses on her inner desire to cling onto any resemblance of Minato, and she shuts down any sort of implication that she needs to let him go. On one hand, Minato is content with being by her side for as long as she needs him, but he also tells her that he wants her to be happy, he wants her to be loved, and wants her to be able to “ride her waves alone” without his help. The theme of Hinako needing to be able to face life without him, and persevere is the focus of her story, and seeing it come together towards the film’s finale is not only a really lovely spectacle to watch, it hits pretty hard emotionally. (More spoilers ahead.)

It’s in this finale that Hinako does learn to let Minato go, and “rides her wave”. Following this, she loses her ability to call upon Minato as she once could. And what follows, is a conclusion that honestly surprised me. You might recall how I said Wasabi confesses he has feelings for her. Well, in the film, Yōko also confesses that she has feelings for Wasabi, which is a move you don’t exactly see coming for her character, despite plenty of hints dropped. She has been this character to say quite strictly that only idiots fall in love, and so when she confesses these feelings for Wasabi, I was genuinely thinking “Oh God, someone is going to be unhappy by the time the credits roll.” Well, Wasabi and Yōko end up moving forward in a relationship, and not only is it very believable, I actually really like that the film decided to do this. To make the decision that by the film’s end, Hinako, our central character, will be single just gives me vibes that I really like. There’s a part right before the film ends where she is standing alone, she hears a message that Minato left for her the year prior, and the she finally lets out all the emotion that she has since mainly been bottling up. From what I remember, this was the first and only time Hinako cries in the film, and it feels so very well done. My family has experienced this kind of emotional release before, and seeing her finally let it out provides some very well executed closure for her, and her relationship with Minato. And of course, the film does end on a strong note, not with her crying, but with her, back on the waves, a look on her face that while she may be hurt for a little while longer, she will be alright, and will persevere, which is the best thing she can do for Minato’s memory.

Hinako prepares to ride her waves.

It isn’t often a film can turn on the waterworks for my eyes, but this one was exceptional. Ride Your Wave quickly proved to me that it was far more than a simple love story, and was set on doing so much more as a story altogether. By the time the credits were rolling, all I could think of was my girlfriend, and how much she meant to me, and how I personally might feel if I were forced into a similar position. This film does a tremendous job of really making you take a step back and simply look to the people you hold close in your life. It’s honestly very hard to properly describe just what makes this movie so well done, and it’s so hard to talk properly about why this movie works. It’s just one you need to experience for yourself.

Which again makes me very angry because not a whole lot of people are talking about it, since not a whole lot of people seem to know it exists. I’m hoping this makes even a few of you curious. If you enjoy anime movies, I highly recommend giving this movie a watch. From what I can tell, it wasn’t exactly a money-maker and is kinda off the radar. That’s not okay.

Here’s a link to purchase the Blu-Ray/DVD combo. Give it some love for me.

Just look at this and tell me your heart doesn’t melt.

If it helps sell this any…. this isn’t anything like “Sub Rosa”.

Apr 2 2020

Star Trek’s Top 15 New Characters (2009-Present)

So, despite what some clickbait grifter on YouTube will have you believe, Star Trek is alive and well. This past decade has given us three feature-length movies, two full seasons of Star Trek: Discovery, and of course, the debut season of Star Trek: Picard just closed out, and that was just as enjoyable. And that’s not to mention that Discovery’s third season is coming our way later this year, alongside the debut of Star Trek: Lower Decks. And even still, that’s not factoring in the growing rumors of a Pike series, the eventual start of the Section 31 series, a couple animated shows, and other live-action shows that are all getting talked about and are hopefully still on the table, despite the current global situation. Everything I’ve seen so far has not only given us a lot of fun stories and concepts, but I’ve been focused a lot on the characters of these shows, their stories, and what they would contribute to each show.

I have been anything but disappointed.

There’s a reason I said that Star Trek: Discovery had given us some of the best character development and overall characters since DS9 in the 90’s, and honestly, Star Trek: Picard may be following suite. With so many new characters to follow and get invested in, it’s time to talk about them. So I’m going to rank what I believe are the best new characters of these shows and films. Now it needs to be said that aside form one notable exception (who I will talk about why I include when I get there), I will not be talking about characters who were established prior to 2009. As much as I love Ethan Peck’s Spock in Discovery’s second season, as much as I love seeing Picard and Seven return to the small screen, as much as I love Kirk and his crew in the films, I won’t be talking about them really since they’re already known and beloved. I’m here to talk about why the new characters are awesome. Let’s get started.

(Be warned of potential spoilers here!)

15. Narek (Star Trek: Picard)

“The key to opening the tan zhekran is taking the time to understand what’s keeping it closed.”

Admittedly, the young mysterious Romulan Tal Shiar agent took a bit longer for me to warm up to. It wasn’t until a bit after the debut season’s halfway point that I started to warm up to him, and admittedly, he still has some work to do in development, but I am very eager to see if that development will improve in the eventual Season 2. Narek shows a lot of promise as the next memorable Star Trek villain, maybe in some ways similar to Dukat in DS9. He’s shown to be manipulative, careful in approach, and very devious. That’s not to say he’ll be the same caliber of villain as Dukat, but I mean, he’s here, isn’t he?

Outside that, I actually found myself very drawn to a few small traits that I actually related to about the character. His meditative fidgeting for one thing is something I actually quickly grew a soft spot for. I loved his toys. I want a tan zhekran. Thanks to him, I bought an infinity cube, and still use it. It can help me focus, and can help calm me down when I need a little calm in my life. It definitely soothes my ADD mindset. It’s nice to see a character like this in Star Trek. It humanizes them and makes them feel more relatable. I mean sure, Narek right now is still kinda an antagonist, and I do believe they need to seriously flesh out his relationship with Soji more than they did for me to buy it, but for now, it’s a good start to the character.

14. Nero (Star Trek)

“Kill him? I’m not gonna kill him. I’m gonna make him watch.”

This choice might arguably make a few eyebrows raise since many consider Nero not particularly strong as a character, and admittedly, he mainly makes the list here because I absolutely love how external material fleshes out his backstory into just how this man thinks, and what life threw his way. I find his character fascinating in how he goes from an honest miner of the Romulan Empire, to a broken man hellbent on destroying the Federation because the pain he feels in the loss of Romulus is that great. And while his motivations may seem very shallow, I do believe that Eric Bana did a fantastic job in bringing him to life. One of the best scenes of the movie is when he interrogates Captain Pike on his ship, and his emotions boiling over when Pike tells him that Romulus wasn’t destroyed is borderline perfect.

And look, even if you throw out the external material, I think he’s a great villain (I still highly recommend reading Star Trek: Countdown, and Star Trek: Nero to get a better picture of this man). Sure, some may see him as this guy who just yells “FIRE EVERYTHING” a lot, or whatnot, but I see a truly grief-stricken man who has nothing left to live for, and nothing left to lose. How he spares Ambassador Spock’s life just to make him watch the destruction of Vulcan is a level of deviousness I’ve never seen in Star Trek before, and I do find it truly tragic that he is so broken, that when offered assistance in his final moments, he outright denies it. I certainly understand if he’s not everybody’s cup of tea, and certainly understand that a few scenes that were cut from the film really should have been left in the film, but regardless, I believe Nero deserves a mention here, and I will always find him a truly fascinating character.

13. Michael Burnham (Star Trek: DIscovery)

“Before I was a mutineer, I was a first officer in Starfleet. I’ll never bear that rank, or any other, again. But it is who I am, and who I always will be. It is by the principles of the United Federation of Planets that I live, and by them I will most certainly die.”

Okay, so I might not be completely out of the woods yet as far as controversial characters are concerned. Of all Star Trek’s lead characters, I can’t think of one that has generated more controversy than Michael Burnham. Whether people whine about her being a Mary Sue, or whatnot, I really could care less. While admittedly, she didn’t exactly shine in my eyes, over the last two seasons, she has very much grown on me in all the right ways. Not only did I enjoy her redemption arc in the debut season for her actions in instigating a deadly war between the Federation and Klingon Empire, but seeing her relationships and friendships with other crew members, the nature of her relationship with her foster brother, Spock, it’s all really well done, and I find myself invested each time.

There’s also something very awesome about the fact that despite being responsible for some atrocities in the Federation at the start of the series, Despite nearly everyone in Starfleet being distrustful of her, despite many having a reason to hate her, she never loses faith in Federation principle. She never tries to excuse herself, she never tells anyone that they’re wrong. She willfully accepts what’s to happen to her, and it makes her redemption and development through this show all the much better. And it makes it that much more satisfying when her friends and crew finally start to forgive her for past transgressions. Is she a perfect lead? No, and there are still a few characteristics about Burnham that I don’t exactly care for, but I am very excited to see where this third season goes, and I cannot wait to see what she brings to the table in that season.

12. Gabriel Lorca (Star Trek: Discovery)

“Universal law is for lackeys. Context is for kings.”

Gabriel Lorca is a character I hope we see more of very soon. Maybe not in the same iteration as we saw in Season One, but he’s definitely a character I hope to see brought back in another iteration. I mean come on, I’m hardly the only one saying “Find Prime Lorca.” And of course that pretty much gives away that the Gabriel Lorca we know is a bit of a baddie. And it was a twist that admittedly… I never saw coming, despite many people theorizing it beforehand. But before the big twist reveal, I absolutely loved the stern short temper of Gabriel Lorca. Granted, before everything, we got a picture that revealed that Lorca wasn’t exactly the best person. He was a broken man, battle-scarred, reckless, defiant, and it was what made him so fascinating. There is something undeniably charming when his officers ask to do a task, cite their specialization, only for him to say “I don’t give a damn. I just want it done.” And that’s not to mention the intimidating presence he gives with his fascination of weapons of war, and his mindset which feels like an antithesis of everything the Federation stands for. But the reason this works is because he’s serving on a ship in a bloody war, and one can understand how that might change a man’s outlook to life.

And this is precisely why I didn’t see the Mirror Universe twist happening when it did. And arguably, after this twist, Lorca does kinda get weaker as a character in an obvious parallel to Trump, going as far as saying that he will make the Terran Empire glorious again. It definitely doesn’t exactly hit all the right marks it should have. But regardless of how it played out, the buildup to this twist is something I will never forget, and I do stilll believe that despite the weak twist, Lorca was a great character. And I am right there with the many who are curious as to whether or not we’ll eventually see Prime Lorca. Time will tell.

11. Laris & Zhaban (Star Trek: Picard)

“After so long, I worry sometimes you’ve forgotten what you did, who you are. We have not.”

I don’t care if this is technically two characters, you just cannot separate these two. The two Romulan housekeepers for Picard demonstrated that they were instantly likable from the time you first see them. Not only does it show you just how much Picard touched some Romulan lives during the events leading up to the tragic destruction of Romulus, but it shows that despite Picard having lost himself in this time, that many Romulans hold no ill feelings towards Picard in his failure. Laris and Zhaban, two former Tal Shiar agents, show just this as they help Picard in his day to day routines, and their heartwarming approach to their new life won me over instantaneously.

And though they live a quiet life now, they show that they can still kick serious ass and take names, like a Tal Shiar agent likely should. And despite kicking ass and taking names, I love that they make an attempt not to resort to their old Tal Shiar methods. They feel like a small antithesis for what a Tal Shiar agent should be, even if we’ll get to the true antithesis of the Tal Shiar later. The dialogue they share with Picard in each scene hits the spot each time and you truly feel like the three are family. The only negative thing I can say is that it’s a damn shame these two characters weren’t seen again after the third episode. I have hopes we will see them again soon.

10. Sylvia Tilly (Star Trek: Discovery)

“I told you I would try to help you. Where I come from, we try to keep our promises.”

Sylvia Tilly is quite possibly the most adorable character on Discovery right now. I hear a lot of people saying that they find her quite annoying, but to me, that just says that they really don’t identify with the very real struggle that many people have when handling a social life, or being socially interactive with other people. Sure, Tilly’s ramblings and stutters may sound annoying to the average human, but I’d argue that you really don’t understand just how much some people like that try to fit in, or try to work on their social skills. I see a lot of TNG character, Reginald Barclay in Tilly, and for the longest time, he was one of the few people I could truly relate to in this franchise.

I also feel that people who write Tilly off as annoying fail to see the bigger picture when it comes to her character. She’s one of the most optimistic characters on the show, and she’s rather humble when it comes to mistakes she makes, and the people she calls friends. How she’s at first very cautious and wary around Burnham, before becoming likely her best friend really goes to show this humble spirit in her. How she’s the first to forgive Ash Tyler after the things that happen in the last half of the first season, how open she is with Paul Stamets in his struggles, how upset she is when she learns that Burnham is willing to sacrifice her place in time if it means stopping Control, you can tell that Tilly has a very big heart, and it goes beyond her friends, as we see with her experience in the mycelial network. Her young eager persona won me over instantly, and I really do hope that she will eventually make big bounds towards a position of command. And that’s not to mention the light-hearted comedy relief that can come alongside her ramblings. It’s good for a chuckle almost every time. And hey, as the character to be the first speaker of an English F-bomb, why wouldn’t I include her here?

9. Raffi Musiker (Star Trek: Picard)

“Nice work, honey. You got us here really damn fast, and I am never going to do that ever again.”

A lot of people really don’t like Raffi for reasons I just kind of laugh at. “Why does she call Picard ‘JL’?! It’s so annoying!” “She’s a pothead! What the hell?!” “She’s so abusive with alcohol!” Honestly, Raffi’s flaws are really what make her such a standout character. I find it truly fascinating that on Earth, she lives not so much in poverty, but definitely in a state that likely isn’t as desired by most people, and I’ve seen a lot of people say that this breaks continuity, as Earth has eradicated poverty, but the thing with Raffi is that she very much brought a lot of this on herself. The way I see it, Picard has said that humans work to better themselves and the rest of humanity, rather than focus on material gain. Raffi is the first character we’ve seen that shows us that people can fail in this aspect. It’s not unreasonable to assume that her addictions and thought patterns did not exactly do much to help her situation, and it’s obvious that no one took her seriously after the events that led to this life played out. So why wouldn’t Raffi be in such a state?

That and, her conspiracy jargon really hits home with this to the point where her own family wants nothing to do with her. How heartbreaking is that? But ironically enough, it’s this bizarre mindset that she has, leading her to come up with ideas and theories that no one else can see which also makes her a standout character in my eyes. And I feel this side of her isn’t explored nearly enough. We see way too many people complaining about nicknames, and who she’s holding hands with than we do the true essence of her character. I feel like that would be the equivalent of me saying I think Picard is a terrible character because he drinks Earl Grey, and doesn’t like children. It misses the true essence of the character. That and relationships can be platonic. Just because she tells Picard “I love you”, does not mean she’s looking to pursue a romantic interest. Just because she’s holding hands with Seven of Nine, does not mean there’s a serious love interest. I feel way too many people are jumping to conclusions and getting worked up about it when the full story hasn’t been told. And bite me. I think her calling Picard JL is adorable.

8. Paul Stamets (Star Trek: Discovery)

“Never hide who you are. That’s the only way relationships work.”

Star Trek’s first openly gay character (if you’re not counting Sulu in Star Trek Beyond) is one of the most interesting characters of Discovery right now in so many ways. Not only is it wicked awesome that his specialty, and work directly mirrors that of the real life scientist of the same name (just a little salt for those who think Discovery’s science is more fantasy), but his arc that he goes through in both seasons of Discovery can be absolutely gut wrenching. A lot of people have come forward of being critical of Discovery for its decision to kill off Paul’s romantic partner in Hugh Culber, saying that it fell under the Bury Your Gays trope, but not only do I disagree with this claim, I believe the show handled it in such a delicate and respectable way that only strengthened Paul as a character, which stands in defiance for everything the Bury Your Gays trope stands for. Hugh’s death does a tremendous amount of development to Paul as he goes through the various stages of grief for a very long time, and what his character goes through when Hugh is brought back from death, and how their relationship isn’t exactly what it once was really goes to show what his mental state must be like when it comes to how they are both handling it.

But even outside this arc of development that both he and Hugh go through, Paul Stamets is just a gem of a character. He easily has some of the best techno jargon of the show, and his explosive banter between any character will almost always be entertaining. Like other characters, how he develops a friendship with Michael Burnham is really kinda heartwarming, and I absolutely adore his love-hate relationship with the next character we’re going to be talking about. His spontaneous decision-making, his immersive knowledge of the mycelial network and the space-time continuum, and the love of his work all add up for one hell of a character that is far more memorable than him simply being the gay character of the show. Paul Stamets thankfully has so much more going on for him, and I can only imagine what is in store for his character in this upcoming season.

7. Jett Reno (Star Trek: Discovery)

“You don’t know me, doc. I’m un-insultable, especially by a guy who thinks he can run a ship on mushrooms that I pick off my pizza.“

Jett Reno is easily one of the best characters of the whole damn show. And I am begging this show to showcase her more in Season 3. I’m begging to simply SEE her in Season 3. Beforehand, I had no idea who Tig Notaro was, and it’s thanks to Discovery, that I am quite a big fan of Tig’s stand-up material. Looking into the background of getting Tig onto the show is delightfully charming, but her character is just fantastic. The same dry delivery that Tig is pretty known for by now is present, and it results in such a fun character. The first time we see her, arms deep in alien blood, and being this dry smart ass immediately made me realize we were in for one very fun character.

Her “give no shits” attitude to almost every character in the show, and her delivery to some of the technobabble that happens with her from time to time makes for some memorable moments in and of themselves, but she’s shown that she can have the heart of gold as well, particularly when she confronts Hugh Culber about his troubled relationship with Paul Stamets. Not only do I find it awesome that she’s another example of representation for the LGBTQ Community in Star Trek, but I feel shows that despite losing so much already, she still has a lot to fight for, and is willing to help those in need, much like Hugh and Paul, despite having a rocky relationship with the latter. But whether it’s her dry humor one liners, or anything else, Jett Reno is truly one of the better recurring characters of Discovery, and I cannot wait to see her brought back. I mean she went with them to the future… she was on the ship. We gotta see her! Don’t let me down!

6. Jaylah (Star Trek Beyond)

“I like the beats and the shouting!”

Before 2016, it felt like a very long time since we’d had a character as charming as Jaylah. As much as I hate crediting this guy, Cinemasins was right that Jaylah presented a much needed breath of fresh air for the Star Trek franchise. There is so much potential for this character to just soar with these other character that I am practically begging for one more Kelvin Timeline movie, simply because I want to see Jaylah brought back. I want to see this character become so much more. Arguably, while Star Trek Beyond doesn’t exactly handle her backstory the best, they handle pretty much everything else absolutely wonderfully, from her badass survivor persona, to her willingness to help those who are in need.

Even the small things about this character, such as the way she speaks is absolutely fantastic. How she knows English, but doesn’t quite have a full grasp of it, leading her to call people names like “Montgomery Scotty” or “James T. Also if there was ever a character in Star Trek that could help me get into rap or hip hop, I’m sure Jaylah would be that person. I absolutely love how she finds the music of an old Earth starship and learns English and discovers music from it. Hell, I just love her survivalist personality. So many of her traps and fighting techniques are so awesome and underrated. I don’t care what it takes, PLEASE bring Jaylah back! I don’t care if you find a way to include her in Discovery, or if she appears in some other show or film, but I am begging for her return.

5. Cristóbal Rios (Star Trek: Picard)

“I said I would never do it again, and then I fucking did it again.”

If there was one actor I had to choose that really demonstrated his acting chops in Star Trek: Picard, it would easily be Santiago Cabrera. He not only does such a wonderful job portraying the brooding ex-Starfleet Officer in Cristóbal Rios, but a fantastic job portraying the various holographic projections of him, each with their own distinct persona and whatnot. I have no idea what Santiago had to do to prepare himself for this role, but he absolutely succeeded with flying colors.

When I first saw him, I had a lot of comparisons to Han Solo of Star Wars, and that can be understood, but I’m thankful that it doesn’t really feel like a ripoff. By the time Rios’ story is revealed to us, it’s actually kinda shocking, and it makes his exchanges with Picard in the later half of the series that much more impactful. Rios feels like he has a lot to learn from Picard, and sure enough, it feels like most of Picard’s big speeches tend to be with Rios. Seeing this broken Starfleet Officer getting consoled and healed by Picard makes for a fantastic story in and of itself, but seeing Rios rise up at the end makes me only more excited for what’s to come for his character. I have a feeling it won’t disappoint.

4. Philippa Georgiou (Star Trek: Discovery)

“It’s my experience, it’s often our best intentions that cause us to do the most harm, especially to those we care for.”

Philippa Georgiou has the potential to be the next character of Star Trek similar to that of Elim Garak. Someone who doesn’t exactly favor the ideals of Starfleet, but admires them enough in the way they can accomplish things. I hear a lot of people express an interest to see the prime counterpart of Georgiou’s explored, and I’m sitting here, absolutely giddy for what her upcoming Section 31 show might give us. Georgiou is more than a fantastic, and charming character. She represents a vessel to really give us an ideal look into the mindset of a Terran in the mirror universe. She is what Worf was for the Klingons, or Kira was for Bajorans, or Quark was for the Ferengi. Hearing some of the things she can say to other people can be downright disturbing at times, and I absolutely love it. I love seeing her use Terran thought to win the day, or come up with a solution. Even if most of the time it tends to get shot down.

But even outside of this, I love her very shaky relationship with Michael Burnham. I cannot think of a better relationship in Star Trek in this area where there is obvious distrust between them, yet at the same time, they have little choice but to trust one another. And I absolutely love that despite everything, Georgiou still very much cares for Burnham as if she were her own daughter. Not only does it result in some awesome development for the two of them, but some awesome chemistry between her and Sarek of all people. Of all the recurring characters of Discovery, Georgiou also has developed the most, showing noticeable change in her tone and mindset from her debut season as she seemingly starts to embrace Federation ideals… though not enough to warrant abandoning her Terran side. And that’s not to mention some of her absolutely delightful dialogue which not only is lovably devious a lot of the time, but can be quick to give an awkward atmosphere in the room she’s standing in. I could honestly go on about Georgiou for all the right reasons, but without a doubt, I am absolutely excited for what she will bring to the third season.

3. Christopher Pike (Star Trek: Discovery)

“Be bold. Be brave. Be courageous. Black alert.”

And here’s that borderline call I was talking about before. Before I get a bunch of angry comments about how Pike is a pre-established character, and shouldn’t qualify here, here’s my reasoning for including him. Before 2009, what exactly was memorable about Pike as a character, aside from the fact that he was at one point, captain of the Enterprise? Honestly, there was nothing really going for him. He was in a failed pilot, and a two-parter of TOS that I don’t really care about. Pike wouldn’t really get on my radar until the 2009 film, and even then, I had no idea just what Discovery would end up doing with this character a decade later. In short, Discovery has turned Captain Pike into a captain that rivals that of Jean-Luc Picard, and you can quote me on that.

Not only do I feel that Pike presents a much needed breath of fresh air for Discovery after the fiasco with Lorca, but I mean you can tell that Pike, despite not spending a lot of time on the Discovery, cares deeply about his crew and will do anything he can to show them that. His love and respect for other cultures screams Starfleet, and his presence as a Captain is everything I would expect to see for the guy commanding the flagship of Starfleet. His actions especially towards the end of Season 2 of Discovery really hammer his place here. I mean there was a reason a particular moment stands out as the best moment of Discovery so far. There’s a reason so many people right now are begging for a Pike show. Why wouldn’t they? Discovery knew what to do with Pike, and even if they didn’t come up with his character they finally made his character stand out, and feel alive. And if that doesn’t qualify him for this list here, then I don’t know what else to tell you.

2. Elnor (Star Trek: Picard)

“Please, friend. Choose to live.”

You really don’t know just how excited I was for this character when Picard was still just getting teased at us. When I heard that we were finally going to get a Romulan protagonist in with the crew, I was bouncing off the walls. Truthfully, I don’t know what I was expecting, but with Elnor, all I can say is that none of my expectations were met, and yet all of my expectations were exceeded. How is that even possible? I still can’t figure it out, but good God is this character awesome! Every time he was onscreen, I was absolutely captivated. And you can throw around your space elf memes and conveniently ignore that space elves have been in Star Trek since 1966. Elnor is still a fantastic character.

Whether it’s his awesome lifestyle of unfiltered emotions, literally saying anything on his mind without hiding anything which can land him in some absolutely adorable social awkwardness, or his badass fighting abilities, Elnor won my heart over immediately in Picard. But it was far more than this. I saw in Elnor ironically enough, everything Starfleet stands for. He binds himself to people who have lost hope, he fights to protect them, he fights so that they can have even a scrap of hope, and if that doesn’t SCREAM Starfleet, I don’t know what does. I have absolutely no idea what to expect from his character in Season 2, but I am absolutely GIDDY with excitement in what his character will go through in the future. I cannot wait. I just have one request… please… please please please please PLEASE show him a damn cat! It’s the one thing I want for this character! Let him see a cat!

1. Saru (Star Trek: Discovery)

“I saw hope, in the stars. It was stronger than fear. And I went towards it.”

Saru quite simply is the best character I’ve seen in Star Trek since… well… anyone on DS9. I’m not at all saying that there have been no good characters since DS9, but Saru seems to outshine a vast majority of them in just two seasons. There is no character I am more invested in, there is no character I am pulling for, no, not even Elnor quite reaches the excellence that Saru has brought to Star Trek (yet… I doubt Evan Evagora will ever really read this, but I still love Elnor, I promise!). Saru has come such a long way in these two seasons of Discovery that I’m at a point where I am practically demanding the show to give him the Captain’s Chair in this upcoming season of Discovery. I will be pretty disappointed if he doesn’t get it, because he has more than earned it.

Much like other alien characters of this franchise, Saru has brought forth a distinct lifestyle of the Kelpiens, and he’s done it in a way that not even Spock could do with the Vulcans in the same amount of time. That to me is incredibly impressive. And it goes beyond that, every time we get a development arc for the character, or a look into his mindset, I cannot help but be endlessly fascinated by what I see. His journey from being this fearful second officer on the Shenzou to an intimidating powerhouse for Discovery has been more than fulfilling. It’s been an experience. His stories are always so damn interesting, and that’s not to mention simple things like his demeanor and behavior. Quite simply, without writing an essay, Saru has embodied everything I love about Star Trek characters in less than 30 episodes. And I don’t think any other character has accomplished such a feat.

And here’s a few honorable mentions…

  • Krall/Balthazar Edison

There’s something tragic about The antagonist of Star Trek Beyond. I actually kinda feel for the guy who feels like he is just a guy who never could adapt to the times. It is a shame that a veteran of Earth’s Xindi and Romulan Wars would feel betrayed when Starfleet would eventually make peace with them, and while it’s a shame he wasn’t properly fleshed out, I do believe he made for a good antagonist for the film.

  • Katrina Cornwell

Katrina Cornwell’s time was short lived on Discovery, but I loved how despite being taken to the brink of doing some arguably questionable acts, you can tell that she still very much holds the ideals of the Federation close. This shows when she’s willing to listen to the crew of the Discovery and when she interacts with Pike. It is a shame she was killed off, but you know what? I believe she went out on the best note possible.

  • Kirsten Clancy

Okay, I admit it. The main reason Clancy is getting the mention is her tendency to swear at Picard. There’s a reason both of her F-bombs are so damn memorable.

  • L’Rell

L’Rell I feel is the middle finger to the Klingon TNG ideal that women may not serve on the Klingon Council. Enter L’Rell, who not only helps unite the Klingon Empire, but becomes just a badass character. I mean it, she’s an absolute badass in the season two finale.

  • Ash Tyler

Just barely missing the cut is Ash Tyler. A very complex character, and wonderful love interest for Michael Burnham, and an equal badass. It’s a shame that it’s not known as to whether or not we will see him in the coming seasons of Discovery since He does not leave with the ship, but with a Section 31 spinoff coming, I wouldn’t be surprised if we haven’t seen the last of him.

And there you have it. The best characters of new Star Trek so far. Agree? Disagree? Feel free to voice your thoughts, and as always, thanks for reading.

Mar 18 2020

THROWBACK REVIEW: Treasure Planet (2002)

When pirates explore the final frontier…

As a child, it is accurate to say that I had a bit of a pirate phase. You know, we all have those weird phases where things are just so cool, and they couldn’t in any way be bad. You know, then you grow up and realize that pirates were criminals who did some of the lowest of the low acts out there, and still do it to this day. But “Arrrgh”, am I right? Regardless, as a kid, when I needed a little pirate adventure in me, there was really only one place to go: the classic Treasure Island tale. This story was EVERYWHERE in my life. I watched it repeatedly. I owned Muppet Treasure Island, a 1987 Burbank Films Australia animated special of the story, I’d seen the 1950 Disney adaptation, I even saw a Wishbone episode of the story. And I’m sure I’m missing a few other adaptations I saw!

What’s the story, Wishbone?

Really, the story was an absolute classic. If my child self needed an adventure, there was no better place for me for the longest time than on the high seas with Treasure Island. You might say that I looked up to Jim Hawkins in a lot of ways. I wanted to break out as he did, I wanted to go on his adventures, I wanted to be in his shoes, and he made me so very happy a lot of the time. So with all this Treasure Island stuff in my life, it was only natural that eventually, I’d find myself watching the 2002 Disney steam-punk adaptation of the same story in Treasure Planet. Needless to say that I absolutely loved it back then, and love it now.

The film opens up with Judge Claude Frollo narrating a holo-book about the notorious Captain Flint, who would loot ships for that precious pirate booty, and we get introduced to young Jim Hawkins, who is absolutely adorable as a child. A few years later, we see him grown up into probably one of my only big problems of the film. I do kinda scoff at how they very much make Jim Hawkins a bit of a bad boy here. I mean, granted, it makes some sense in context with the story, keyword being some, but it still very much feels like a trophy move that never really feels earned. But I guess they gotta show us some of that sweet sweet animation, and making him a Marty McFly Tony Hawk hybrid gives them an opportunity to do just that.

Bad boys, bad boys, whatcha gonna do?

Unsurprisingly, Hawkins has grown up in this state and has a reputation of being a bit of a delinquent. And it’s because of a change in the story that I actually really kinda like. In the original stories of Treasure Island, Jim Hawkins lives with his mother in an inn. No different here. But in the classic, his father has been dead a few years. Here, Jim’s dad is still alive, but Jim has no idea really where he is, or even who he was, since he left at a young age, never came back, and this has had an impact on Jim’s life. While again, I kinda scoff at the bad boy aspect that results in this change, it opens the door for some character development of the character that is honestly, pretty absent in the original tale. But we’ll eat there soon.

If you know the story, you’ll know that a stranger appears at the inn, a fellow by the name of Billy Bones, and how this movie approaches it admittedly makes me scratch my head. The other stories give us some time to get to know Billy Bones. We see him interact quite a bit with Jim Hawkins and we eat some backstory into who he is and why he’s in hiding. Here… he’s barely alive five minutes. Granted, Billy Bones dies in every story, but not nearly this quick. This makes his reveal of him having a map to Flint’s treasure, and his warning of Long John Silver feel not nearly as impactful in the long run. Billy Bones here feels more like a footnote, when he feels like an actual character in pretty much every other rendition of this story I can think of.

Billy Bones might not be much of a character, but they do a wonderful job fleshing out pretty much everybody else.

Oh well, we know where this goes, Jim gets a map (or golden orb here and by some sort of luck, he eats it open to reveal said map), and he and his friend Dr. Doppler fund an expedition to see out the legendary titular Treasure Planet that the map supposedly reveals. And it’s here where I gotta praise a couple things. Firstly, I gotta praise the designs of this crew. Just look at some of these crew members and you can tell that there was a lot of fun in creating these guys. It’s this movie, and movies like Lilo and Stitc that pretty much have me convinced that Disney knows how to have fun with their alien designs, and with some of the Star Wars suf I’ve seen in their new movies, I don’t think they’ve lost their touch.

A positively trustworthy crew.

I think easily my favorite of the crew has to be little Morph who doesn’t have much of a role, but goddammit, the little glob of cute makes me laugh almost every time he’s onscreen. What a brilliant idea for ‘Long’ John Silver’s pet. The shapeshifting mimicking glob is just… perfect. They could have easily given Silver just some bird-alien pet Resembling a parrot, complete with the mimicking trait, but can you tell me it would be anywhere as charming as this pink glob??? The answer is no. No it wouldn’t. Not even close.

Legit one of the funniest moments of the movie.

Also holy shit, I cannot go on anymore without praising this animation. It doesn’t take long for it to establish itself as something absolutely awesome in this department, and you can probably thank the steampunk aesthetic of the film for that. I’m normally not one to really fall head over heals for this kind of story or setting, but goddamn does this story absolutely sell itself, and make it absolutely hard not to just get drawn in by literally everything going on in this story. Everything from the fun ship designs, to the animation of the characters, to the action out in space, to ‘Long’ John Silver’s cybernetics is animated in a way that just makes me wanna shout “WHOAH!” It can be breathtaking at times.

JUST LOOK AT THIS ANIMATION!

Granted there are a few things in the animation department that I particularly don’t care for, but then again, it falls more under just things I personally don’t care for. The ‘gross’ factor if you wanna call it that is kinda here, and I don’t care for it. Thankfully, it’s not a huge presence in the film, but it’s still kinda distracting. The two instances that kinda come to mind are a few instances where they animate drool, not exactly something I ever really liked, and an alien that communicates literally with flatulence. Because fart sounds I guess. I don’t wanna spend anymore time talking about this.

I’ve heard some people say they really don’t care for the steampunk aesthetic of the film, and if you’re gonna Neil deGrasse Tyson the film, then yeah, you might need to skip this one since they throw space physics out the window the entire film. I mean granted, there are a few times they have fun with gravity and whatnot, but I mean, there’s no air dome, so everyone just breathes in space pretty much. No explanation really, but it’s just one of those things you don’t really question. Like space whales (which are also present in this film…. and contribute to the gross factor).

Okay, seriously, who can NOT be wowed by these visuals?!

This film does a great job of really having us get to know these characters. As much as I love films like Muppet Treasure Island, and other Treasure Island adaptations, I cannot deny that they really struggle with getting me to care about anyone other than Jim Hawkins. You really don’t get to know or care about the other characters in these movies like Captain Smollett, Mr. Arrow, Ben Gunn, etc… They always feel like they’re in the background. Even ‘Long’ John Silver (who will get his own paragraph) never really felt like a huge character in these adaptations. This movie remedies this in so many ways. Each character feels impactful to the story, and you care about what becomes of them. Granted, it’s not perfect, and I mean… obvious baddies are obvious baddies, but you can tell that they really tried to bring each and every character here to life.

For instance, Captain Amelia and Doppler, they develop a bit of a relationship, and while it isn’t flawlessly executed, I still care about them both far more than I would any other character in an adaptation. Kermit the Frog plays a good Captain Smollett, but he’s still Kermit the Frog in a captain’s outfit. Ben Gunn here might be a bit over the top and even a title annoying, but he’s more memorable than any other iteration of the character I can remember. Mr. Arrow… good God this character is great, and he’s actually a bit of a drastic turn from other renditions of the character. In the original, he really doesn’t contribute much of anything to the story, and is killed off rather quickly after Silver gets him drunk and throws him overboard. Here, Mr. Arrow feels competent, and feels like an actual first officer. And when he is eventually killed in a scene that actually REALLY disturbed me when I first saw it, it feels that much more impactful. I cannot thank this film enough for giving me a reason to care about any of these people!

Seriously, who WOULDN’T find this disturbing?

And then there’s ‘Long’ John Silver. Good God, where do I begin?

While always a major character of the story, ‘Long’ John Silver really never felt as fully developed as he should have likely been in this story. This ranges to pretty much every Treasure Island adaptation I have ever seen. His transition from leading a group of bloodthirsty pirates on a mutiny against the crew, to suddenly saving Jim from their hands always felt like it came out of nowhere. And this is finally rectified here, and it’s the fact that this film chose to have Jim’s father leave at an early age that makes the relationship between Hawkins and Silver work so damn well. While you can tell that Hawkins is at first very wary of Silver, due to the fact that he was warned about an unnamed cyborg, like Hawkins is warned of the sailor with a missing leg, the time the two spend together really develops into something special, and I love how this film shows us just how much of a struggle it is for Silver, who is walking this fine line between leading a group of bloodthirsty pirates, and being a straight up father-figure for Jim. Some of the dialogue exchanges these two have will leave me warm inside each and every time.

I don’t think there’s a better father-son relationship shown in any Disney movie.

And it’s this wonderful development between the two that makes the conflicts the two have with each other that much better throughout the film! When Hawkins overhears their plans to mutiny, you can telll there’s genuine hurt in his face when just a scene or two ago, Silver was offering him genuine comfort over the death of Mr. Arrow when he was blaming himself over the incident! You can tell when Hawkins and the others are escaping the ship during the mutiny, that there is genuine conflict in Silver when he has a CLEAR SHOT that he could have taken at Hawkins. There is actual emotion being put in play between both of these characters and it just elevates this film to new levels. Each time they have a conflict, it feels real, and I care about both characters. Beforehand, ‘Long’ John SIlver was just a cool character in my eyes because he was a pirate, and kid me loved pirates.

It’s this bond the two share that I feel really glues this entire story together, and it is this bond the two of them share that makes me wonder just what the hell people watched back in 2002 that made them describe this movie as a film with weaker characterizations than usual. What the hell were you watching??? The only thing, and I mean the ONLY thing that they do with this that I really don’t care about is that they use a pretty forgettable song to kinda help illustrate how Hawkins lacked a father figure in his life, and the song plays in a montage of the two growing closer in this retrospect. I just find it kinda silly that they used that approach to flesh out the characters. It’s one of the reasons I personally don’t care too much for the film Titan A.E., due to its constant barrage of 90’s pop/rock selections. Thankfully, this film limits itself to just one of these musical selections.

As far as the adventure itself is concerned, it’s still a lot of fun. While again, there are a few things that might rub off the wrong way for me personally, such as Ben Gunn’s personality, and whatnot, by the time things really get rolling in this film, it is impossible to be bored or not invested. You can tell that the people behind this had a whole lot of fun with each and every sequence shown in this movie, from the supernova storm, to the mutiny, to hunting, and locating Flint’s Trove of Treasure. And they do this without losing a beat of making us care about each character here. Not only with Hawkins and Silver, but with Doppler and Amelia, who develop a very fun relationship with one another after she’s severely injured.

We even get an awesome Star Trek reference.

I’m not sure how much I enjoy the action packed climax of the story, but I suppose it’s fun enough, even if I find Jim’s hurry-rigged hoverboard a bit of a stretch. I do really find the use of the map in the scene in finding the loot, and escaping the self-destruction of the planet to be a whole lot of fun. And again… it just really amplifies the bond between both Silver and Hawkins. And not to be too spoiler-y, but it makes their separation that much better of a scene.

Seeing the conclusion of their bond really hits home every time. Not only is it heartwarming to see Hawkins willingly let Silver escape when it’s likely that Silver will face charges when they return to port, but seeing Silver look at Hawkins the way a father would to any child of theirs is just…. oh it gets you right in the feels.

Right in the goddamn feels…

When all is said and done, Treasure Planet doesn’t get nearly enough love that it deserves as far as Treasure Island adaptations are concerned, but I am happy to see that lately, the trend has gone in its favor. However, I cannot help but disagree when I hear some say that this one should get a live-action remake. Not only do I feel like the steampunk setting would dramatically lose its charm in a live-action medium, but it honestly doesn’t feel like it’s in dire need of one. In a world that is absolutely full of Treasure Island adaptations, making this unique entry in that a live-action I feel takes away the charm it offers to the story. That and you know they’d focus more on the pretty setting than the actual character development… This is one I really think they need to leave alone.

Treasure Planet is far from perfect. It offers some sequences I find pretty dumb, its action at times maybe feels a bit tacked on, and its musical score really leaves much more to be desired, but I’d be lying if I said that this isn’t a personal favorite adaptation of the classic story. Not only for the reasons I’ve talked about but so much more. It makes me laugh, it touches the heart, this film wins me over every time I put it on no matter what. Even though I have fully moved on from pirates. I don’t know if I jus watched it at the right time, or whatnot, but as far as underrated Disney films are concerned, this sits right near the top alongside the likes of films like The Hunchback of Norte Dame, and Atlantis: The Lost Empire (another great steampunk DIsney movie that’s probably only as charming as it is because of its awesome animation). If needed, I’d highly recommend experiencing it for yourself, as it has held up remarkably well.

Eat your heart out, Orion Syndicate!

Well, this review wasn’t two weeks late or anything. With all this talk of the coronavirus going around right now, I might be watching a few films to try and make light of the situation in the near future. I guess it really just depends on whether or not I find myself quarantined to my house. Time will tell. Stay healthy everyone.